St. Michaels is a picturesque harbor on Maryland's Eastern Shore and was named as one of the Top 10 Best Small Coastal Towns in America by USA Today. Its harbor and some homes date back to the mid-1600's, and is home to the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum where you can immerse yourself in our maritime history.Come and experience the beauty of St. Michaels and all this charming town has to offer! www.stmichaelsmd.org

How and why you started your business? (any background info would be helpful)

Ben worked for a small distillery after college, and Jaime is an avid spirits enthusiast, so after moving here in 2012, they decided St. Michaels was an ideal location for the distillery.

What do you sell/make/do?

We make a series of signature rums, a corn whiskey, as well as a traditional Maryland rye whiskey.

Where is your business located and why did you choose your location?

Lyon Distilling Co. is located in the Historic Mill District. The mill has a fascinating history and wonderful industrial architecture, with added benefit of being pedestrian friendly. Visitors are also in close proximity to the winery and brewery, creating a booze trifecta unlike anywhere else in the state!

What strategy do you use to draw people to your establishment?

Our focus is to create absolutely superb small batch spirits whose reputation speaks for itself. We're happy that people like the look of the bottles, but to us, it's what's inside the bottle that is most important.

What is your strategy for growth in the next year?

After building a great reputation over the last year and a half, the goal is to expand production to markets where we have demand, but haven't been able to sell to simply because we are very much a boutique scale operation.

What is the best thing about running a business here?

St. Michaels is a beautiful town, with a great community, and fantastic history. It's also incredibly exciting to see all the new businesses thriving here, and a new generation of visitors discovering the town.